Funding for Experiential Learning
Have you landed a great experiential learning opportunity but need funds to make it happen? This is a great place to start.
Expand the menus below to explore EL funding available to CAS undergraduates. Follow the links provided for fund-specific information about requirements and eligibility guidelines.
Activity-Specific Funding Sources
A list of funding sources by the type of experiential learning activity it supports.
Entrepreneurship Funding
| Funding Source | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Enlight Social Impact Incubator & Summer Internships | Funding for unpaid summer internships at a local Boston nonprofit or social benefit organization, along with support from Innovate@BU for designing your own social venture. Learn more. | Awardees must participate in Innovate@BU’s 10-week summer incubator program. |
| First-Year Innovation Fellowship |
Join a diverse community of problem solvers and receive seed money, coaching, and resources to transform your ideas into impact. Must be a first-year student. Learn more. | Incoming first-year students |
| Innovation Pathway | A self-paced program that supports ventures of all kinds created by current BU students and alumni who have graduated within the last year. It’s perfect for ideas with a sustainable business model – think for-profit startups or nonprofit organizations. Learn more. | Current BU student or alumni within one year of graduation. |
| Summer Accelerator | A 10-week intensive program that guides BU students and new alumni as they build an early-stage venture. Provides a stipend of up to $10,000 so that participants can work on their venture full-time while accessing mentorship, entrepreneurship education, and more. Learn more. | Current BU student or recent alumni. |
| Sustainability Innovation Seed Grants | Funding to kick-start a project or develop an intervention that tackles the leading sustainability challenges facing BU. Learn more. | Current BU students and alumni within one year of graduation with sustainability-focused projects. |
Internship Funding
| Funding Source | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Enlight Social Impact Incubator & Summer Internships | Funding for unpaid summer internships at a local Boston nonprofit or social benefit organization, along with support from Innovate@BU for designing your own social venture. Learn more. | Awardees must participate in Innovate@BU’s 10-week summer incubator program. |
| Kilachand Honors College, Kilachand Internship Program | Funding to support Kilachand students who identify or design a project with an organization focused on social justice work, as defined by the student. Provides living allowance stipends for unpaid, nonprofit internships, as well as mentorship and an educational framework to support and strengthen the internship experience. Learn more. | All Kilachand students who have completed their first year, have made satisfactory academic progress, and are in good standing in Kilachand are eligible to apply. |
| Summer Internship Support Program | Provides housing, dining, and professional development coaching to students with unpaid or low-paying summer internships in Greater Boston. Learn more. | Current CAS undergraduates, including students graduating the spring before the internship. |
| Yawkey Nonprofit Internship Program | Supports student with unpaid internships at nonprofit organizations. Learn more. | Sophomore, junior, and first-semester seniors during a fall or spring semester internship; freshmen, sophomore, junior standing during the preceding spring semester for a summer internship. |
Materials Funding
| Funding Source | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Arts & Sciences, Student Academic Enhancement Fund | Designed to support undergraduate CAS students and student groups in the pursuit of academic interests, endeavors, and achievements outside of the classroom. Requests must be related to a major or minor offered within CAS. See website for further restrictions. Learn more. | |
| Provost’s Scholars Award | $1000 of funding for research/creative activity expenses such as travel to conferences and archives or for research-related equipment and supplies. Learn more. | Second-semester sophomores; minimum GPA of 3.0. |
| Sustainability Innovation Seed Grants | Funding to kick-start a project or develop an intervention that tackles the leading sustainability challenges facing BU. Learn more. | Current BU students and alumni within one year of graduation with sustainability-focused projects. |
Project and Program Funding
| Funding Source | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Arts Initiative Grants | To encourage the continued development of an intellectual community around the arts and arts practice at BU and enhance our student-life experience, the BU Arts Initiative offers research grants for graduate and undergraduate research, as well as grants to faculty, students, and staff for projects that directly engage students in the arts. Committees of faculty, staff, and students review all proposals. All BU Arts Initiative arts grants are subject to fiscal year restrictions and must be used in the fiscal year awarded. Learn more. | Varies by award |
| Arts & Sciences, Student Academic Enhancement Fund | Designed to support undergraduate CAS students and student groups in the pursuit of academic interests, endeavors, and achievements outside of the classroom. Requests must be related to a major or minor offered within CAS. Learn more. | |
| Diversity & Inclusion, Learn More Community Grant | Provide between $1,000 – $3,000 in funding to students, staff, and faculty who wish to take a deeper dive into the year’s Learn More Series theme, either by hosting programs and events open to the campus community, or by organizing smaller learning communities. Learn more. |
Applicants will be asked to describe how your proposed program or activity connects with the 2024-25 Learn More Series theme, Indigenous Identities and Experiences; as well as Boston University’s Diversity Statement; and/or BU 2030 Strategic Priorities #3 – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and #4 – Community, Big Yet Small.
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| Diversity & Inclusion, Inclusion Catalyst Grants | Provides up to $2,000 to collaborative and creative programs and initiatives that generate learning foster inclusive and equitable communities at BU. Learn more. | Boston University students, faculty, and staff who require financial support to realize their creative programs and initiatives fully. |
| Ignite Student Council | Funds and other forms of support for students interested in starting a tech-focused club on campus. Learn more. | |
| Sustainability Innovation Seed Grants | Open to current BU students and alumni within one year of graduation. With funding and resources offered by BU Sustainability and Innovate@BU, students are empowered to kick-start a project or develop an intervention that tackles the leading sustainability challenges facing BU. Learn more. | Current BU students and alumni within one year of graduation with sustainability-focused projects. |
| Student Life Emergency Fund | Unexpected costs incurred for required travel or academic requirements. Learn more. |
Research Funding
| Funding Source | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| CAS Honors Research Travel Awards | Funds grants of up to $1,000 for travel to conduct research by advanced undergraduates pursuing the B.A. with honors in any College of Arts & Sciences major. Learn more. | All CAS juniors and seniors with an approved proposal for a Senior Honors Project on file in their major department are eligible. |
| CURA Travel & Research Grant | Travel grants of up to $500 are provided to students who wish to travel outside of Boston for a conference or to conduct research on a subject related to CURA’s mission. Learn more. | Conference or research must be on a subject related to CURA’s mission. |
| Provost’s Scholars Award | $1000 of funding for research/creative activity expenses such as travel to conferences and archives or for research-related equipment and supplies. Learn more. | Second-semester sophomores; minimum GPA of 3.0. |
| UROP | Connects BU undergraduate students with funded, faculty-mentored research projects in any academic area university-wide. Learn more. | Any full-time undergraduate student at BU is eligible to apply. |
Travel Funding
| Funding Source | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Arts & Sciences, Student Academic Enhancement Fund | Designed to support undergraduate CAS students and student groups in the pursuit of academic interests, endeavors, and achievements outside of the classroom. Requests must be related to a major or minor offered within CAS. Does not support semester-long travel or travel over summer. Learn more. | |
| CAS Honors Research Travel Awards | Funds grants of up to $1,000 for travel to conduct research by advanced undergraduates pursuing the B.A. with honors in any College of Arts & Sciences major. Learn more. | All CAS juniors and seniors with an approved proposal for a Senior Honors Project on file in their major department are eligible. |
| CURA, Travel & Research Grant | Provides travel grants of up to $500 to students who wish to travel outside of Boston for a conference or to conduct research on a subject related to CURA’s mission. Learn more. | Conference or research must be on a subject related to CURA’s mission. |
| Provost’s Scholars Award | $1000 of funding for research/creative activity expenses such as travel to conferences and archives or for research-related equipment and supplies. Learn more. | Second-semester sophomores; minimum GPA of 3.0. |
| Student Life Emergency Fund | Unexpected costs incurred for required travel or academic requirements. Learn more. |
Discipline-Specific Funding Sources
A list of funding sources for experiential learning by subject area.
Archaeology
| Funding Source | Supported Activity | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Archaeology Grants | Research, Travel | These funds are intended to enhance undergraduate and graduate training in archaeology, and may be used for a variety of research- and travel-related expenses, including conference travel, research activities, and field schools. Learn more. | Archaeology majors, minors, and graduate students in good academic standing in the BA, BA/MA, or MA program in Archaeology may apply for an Archaeology Student Research Grant. |
| Mary Beaudry Broadening Archaeological Participation Fund | Research, Travel | Provides travel support on a competitive basis to BU undergraduate and graduate students of color or from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain first-hand experience in the field of archaeology. These funds are normally used to help lessen the financial burden of travel expenses for participation in an approved archaeological summer field school, but may be used for a variety of other research- and travel-related expenses, including conference travel and research activities. Learn more. | Undergraduate and graduate students of color or from disadvantaged backgrounds. |
| Mark Mobius Student Research and Travel Endowment Fund | Materials, Research, Travel | Support for research and fieldwork conducted by undergraduate and graduate archeology students at the College of Arts & Sciences. Expenses may include, but are not limited to, travel stipends, research support, and others costs associated with fieldwork, including technology expenses. Learn more. | Undergraduate or graduate (BA, BA/MA, MA, PhD) students doing archaeological research. |
Biology
| Funding Source | Supported Activity | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Biology Department Travel Grant | Research, Travel | Offers BMB students the opportunity to receive funding for travel and participation in research conferences or other professional development activities that support their education and career path. Learn more. | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology students |
Core Curriculum
| Funding Source | Supported Activity | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Stephen Lee Cohen Award for Sublime Firsts | Travel, Research, Projects/Programs, Materials | Designed to support undergraduate students with financial need to help them access new experiential learning opportunities related to Core coursework. The award is intended to cover expenses such as event tickets, entrance fees, and access to additional reading material or online resources, as well as related to travel, lodging, or meal expenses. | BU Students enrolled in a Core (CC) course the semester the experience take place. |
International Relations
| Funding Source | Supported Activity | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Michael T. Corgan Internship Fund | Internship | Awards a stipend to selected students for a qualified summer internship in the area of international affairs that would otherwise be unpaid. Learn more. | Open to Pardee School undergraduate majors who are at least rising juniors at the time of application. To be eligible, a student must have an internship offer in hand. |
| William R. Keylor Travel Grants for Undergraduates | Research, Travel | Institutionally supported undergraduate student research. Learn more. | Students in the Pardee School of Global Studies. |
Jewish Studies
| Funding Source | Supported Activity | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Brooks Family Scholarship | Research, Travel | Short-term research support. Learn more. | Available to Boston University sophomores or juniors who have declared a minor in Jewish Studies and have completed three or more courses counting toward the minor (including up to 2 courses in Hebrew Language). Seniors on track to graduate with the minor are also eligible. |
| Henry J. and Carole Pinkney Research Scholarship | Research, Travel | Students can request funds to cover travel expenses, conference fees, and other costs directly related to research or professional development. Learn more. | Open to any Boston University undergraduate or graduate student conducting research in Jewish Studies. |
| Jewish Cultural Endowment | Research, Projects/Programs | Supports the development of Jewish cultural programs across the university, including lectures, conferences, literary events, curricular enhancement, and artistic performances and exhibitions. Learn more. | Students with access to a BU program administration that will be responsible for planning, promoting and executing the event. |
| Levine, Martin Family Scholarship | Research, Travel | Short-term research support. Learn more. | Boston University students concentrating in Jewish Studies who need to have declared a minor in Jewish Studies and have completed at least three courses counting toward the concentration. |
Mathematics & Statistics
| Funding Source | Supported Activity | Brief Description | Eligibility |
| Undergraduate Travel Grants | Research, Travel | Supports travel to, and participation in, conferences and workshops. Learn more. | Students from underrepresented groups are strong encouraged to apply. |